Reed II’s went down to Welwyn Garden city III’s on Saturday, despite a record breaking partnership and their highest batting score of the season so far.Captain Jason Archer won the toss and elected to bat at Welwyn. Reed sent in openers Ben Bowles and Fergus Martin to build their total, and the opening stance was a slow yet solid. The score was moving towards the half century mark when a mix up left Martin scrambling towards the strikers end, where unfortunately a sharp piece of fielding led to him being run out for 21. This brought new boy Mark King to the crease, and in conjunction with Bowles a new Reed II’s highest 2nd wicket partnership was set.Almost 150 runs were scored before the next wicket went down, with Ben Bowles falling agonisingly short of a half century, on 48 when he was given out LBW. In the mean time King had raced along, and with some wonderful timing and good shot selection had given the WGC bowlers a torrid time. King reached his half century and then his first Reed century in short time.King progressed to 127, before he pulled a hamstring and was forced to retire hurt. Ian Fulk (17) and Chris Shorrock (16 Not Out) added valuable extra runs to the Reed score as they posted what looked to be a a daunting 249-3 in their allotted 53 overs.Reed’s task of defending their total was dealt a blow before it got going when ‘keeper/batsmen King was unable to continue after his hamstring injury, sustained when batting, proved too painful. This meant Reed were left with one man down in the field, and with a part time wicket keeper. Matt Bowles was forced [...]

Reed 1XI lost their first League game of the season on Saturday as they lost to a spirited Watford Town by 3 wickets. However, despite their loss, Reed remain at the top of Division 2 with only a handful of games remaining.The game began with Reed winning the toss and electing to bat on a warm day at The Green. With a flat wicket in prospect, Watford’s opening bowlers J van de Ee (7.3-1-34-4) toiled without initial success in partnership with K Afridi (5-0-15-1) as Baz Curtis (14) and James Heslam (24) plundered early runs to take the score to 38. It took a special catch for van de Ee at square leg to stop a full blooded pull stroke from Heslam and bring Watford their first wicket.When spinner A Manzoor (22-5-77-5) was introduced to the attack, the situation changed immediately, as Curtis fell caught in the covers. With Chris Jackson (6) at the crease, Reed hoped to settle the situation, but he too fell to a soft caught and bowled dismissal. Phil Frenay (70) came to the crease seeking to settle the ship with Tom Fulk (10), but when Fulk became frustrated, tied by some tight bowling from Manzoor and S Prodger (8-0-26-0), Reed were reeling on 85 for 5. The situation deteriorated again for Reed when Marcus Martin fell to Manzoor for 1.Meanwhile Phil Frenay continued to occupy crease time, and graft before he released some explosive shots that characterise his batting armoury. Assisted by Simon Jackson (44), and subsequently by William Clarke (30), Reed managed to accelerate their score significantly and deal a tough strike to Watford as they accelerated the score over 200 in a short space of time. The reintroduction [...]

Reed 3rd XI continued their good start to the season with a convincing win over Ware 2nd XI, at our new home ground in Sandon.Captain Peter Baker won the toss and elected to field. It looked like it might be a long afternoon in the field with both of the openers hitting fours over the top of the bowlers heads. However, the break through soon came with Haslam (2-21) clean bowling the opener. The next wicket soon fell with Willoughby taking a catch off Kieran Ward's (3-23) bowling. After the openers had been dismissed the remainder of the wickets were quick to follow with tight swing bowling from Haslam, Ward, and Roberts (5-3) who came on as the first change. Swain also contributed by taking a good catch at Mid- off. Ware were eventually all out for 52 runs.Reed came out to bat before tea had even been delivered to the pavillion. Swain opened and scored an unbeaten 24. Marcus Baker made a valuable contribution scoring a good 16. Heslam then came into help knock the remaining few runs off scoring 9 not out. The runs were knocked off for only 3 wickets. A good all round performance by the whole team especially in the field.

Reed maintained their top-of-the-table position on Saturday as they picked up their fourth successive 30 points in as many games after toppling Totteridge by 68 runs in a wet finish to the game. Reed now have the maximum 120 points from their 4 Herts League games, and are already showing ominous signs of form for the remainder of the season.Having won the toss, skipper James Heslam elected to bat, continuing Reed’s fine run at setting challenging totals. True to form, Heslam (58) and Curtis (80) did not let their side down as the pair brandished some expansive strokes to build a first innings partnership of 147 in only 27 overs. Curtis, Reed 1XI’s leading League run scorer so far this season, played some punishing off and cover drives, whilst Heslam demonstrated some text book shots of his own. Both openers A Sutaira (12-2-57-0) and Siddiqui (8-1-42-0) suffered. It was only when Imran Khan (19-1-78-5) was introduced to the attack, and he found his line, did Totteridge begin to find rewards. Khan urged Heslam into playing a loose stroke to point, and shortly thereafter Curtis fell caught behind of a fine edge. With new batsmen Richard Johnson (0) and Chris Jackson (45) at the crease, Reed hoped to consolidate, but Khan struck again having Johnson, caught at short midwicket, with a lazy shot for a duck.Totteridge looked like they were on top, but a thoughtful innings from both C Jackson and William Clarke (32) steadied the ship, as the pair batted responsibly defending good balls, and punishing poor deliveries to build a partnership of 71 taking the score to 218 in 48 overs. Both Clarke and Jackson fell trying to push the score in the closing [...]

Reed II’s hosted Tewin on Saturday on a blazing hot day at ‘The Green’, still in search of their first win of the season.Tewin won the toss, and opted to put Reed into bat, a decision that looked entirely justified when opener Matt Bowles edged to gully after only 3 balls, and number 3 batsman Stuart Smith (10) ran himself out in somewhat bizarre circumstances in the 9th Over with the score on 25. Ben Bowles was looking solid however, and along with Ian Fulk (4) began to steady the ship but when Fulk was trapped LBW with the on only 48, Reed began to fear the worst. Ben Bowles was playing magnificently however, and looked certain to make at least a half century, when he top edged spinner Smith to fine leg whilst on 42.Chris Shorrock and Karl Ward were now in charge of rescuing the Reed innings, and Shorrock in particular relished the challenge ahead. Shorrock played some brilliant shots, taking the Tewin bowling apart at every opportunity. Ward added a valuable 15 runs before he was trapped plumb LBW by Aylieff, and further woe was to follow soon after for Reed when Richard Roberson was bowled for 8. Shorrock was then joined by Dale Shepherd at the crease, and continued to make run scoring look easy. He reached a sublime half century, and just as it looked he would push on towards a century, he fell victim to a highly contentious stumping decision for 53.Reed were now at 171 for 7 with 44 of their allotted 53 Overs passed, and Tewin must have fancied their chances of removing the Reed tail cheaply. However, they had not reckoned on a brutal and superb [...]

Reed 3rd XI maintained their push for promotion from Herts League Division 12 with a very substantive victory over fellow promotion challengers Stevenage V.Winning the toss Reed chose to bat first on a rare 2007 hot and sunny afternoon and after the early loss of opener Baker 16 year old Fergus Martin and veteran skipper John Heslam, 40 years his senior, set about building Reeds formidable total. The pair eventually amassed a new record Reed 3rd XI 2nd wicket partnership of 147 before the elegant Martin was caught for 51. Heslam meanwhile continued to take the attack to the Stevenage bowlers and plunered them for a fine century which included 17 x 4's. Heslam was supported by good contributions from Michael Robertson 20 and Masseh Naeem 28 before he fell bowled for 105. Ward18 nout out batted through with Naeem until the Reed declaration at 240 - 5 off only 42 overs.In reply Stevenage were always struggling against an accurate Reed bowling attack and fine catching. Rupert Martin 8 overs 2-6, and Neil Haslam 2-23 inflicted the early damage ell supported by superb catches by Martin himself, Masseh Naeem and Peter Baker. Ian Roberts then kept Stevenage under a tight rein with 10 overs 2-15 before Ward with 2.2 overs 3-10 administerd the last rights to a shell shocked Stevenage team who despite recovering from 35-5 could only muster 123 all out from their 37.2 overs leaving Reed winners by 117 runs.

Reed slipped to third in the Saracens Herts League Division 2, a small handful of points behind both Flitwick and Berkhamsted as they were unlucky to close in on victory against Radlett IIs on Saturday.Winning the toss, and electing to bat, Reed amassed 235 for 6 off 52 overs, but could not take Radlett’s final wicket as they battled for a draw, their score on 199 for 9 off their 48 over reply.Reed’s innings got off to a strong start as James Heslam (41) found his feet with a superb measured innings in partnership with Baz Curtis (53). Curtis made his mark early as he despatched opening bowler R Watson (3-0-29-0) for 14 in the first over of the day, including a six off the second ball of the game over extra cover. The momentum did not stop as fellow opener G Dill (5-0-31-0) also suffered. It allowed Reed to race to 93 for 0 off just 18 overs. However, despite Curtis’ trademark drives, and Heslam’s battlingly classical shot selection, H Paynter (18-3-59-3), with his nagging medium pace, built some pressurising momentum in conjunction with J Chaudry’s off spin (19-4-58-1). It was the ultimate demise for the pair as they miscued a pull stroke from a poor short delivery off Paynter to be caught at mid wicket. Curtis shortly followed up as he was trapped LBW with the score on 98.However, Chris Jackson (38) and Phil Frenay (10) continued in strong form, picking the bad deliveries and blocking the better ones. When Frenay was also trapped LBW by Paynter, Reed looked to be losing wickets at key moments when batsmen should have been advancing their innings. Tom Fulk (58*) continued in Frenay’s shoes, as he [...]

Reed 2’s went agonisingly close to snatching an unlikely draw against St Albans 3’s on Saturday, after a poor batting display had let them down.St Albans won the toss and put Reed into bat at ‘The Green’. Ben Bowles and Simon Jackson opened the Reed innings, but the hosts were dealt an early blow when Ben Bowles edged behind in the 3rd Over for his first duck of the season. This brought Mark King to the middle, and along with Jackson he began to build the Reed total. King looked good as he dispatched 3 balls to the boundary, however he too fell after attempting a pull shot whilst on 13 leaving Reed 38-2 off of 8 Overs. Jackson was joined by Ian Fulk, but Fulk also went early when he was bowled by Smith for just 6 .Reed were in trouble on 55-3, despite Jackson looking good and remaining unbeaten. Matt Bowles was next to try and partner Jackson and he looked to be in good touch as he got to double figures before he succumbed to a good low catch at point for 11. Chris Shorrock (5) also came and went after a bizarre run out, leaving Reed staring down the barrel of a massively sub standard score, at 80-5.Richard Robertson then came to the crease and provided Jackson with the partnership Reed had been looking for in order to build a defendable total. Robertson was punishing any balls of full length with punch drives, and Jackson was slowly but surely building his own total. The pair took Reed over the 100 mark, and continued to add to the score after the drinks break. Robertson was looking set for a big score when [...]

Reed sailed high again on Saturday by completing another thumping victory over mid-placed Preston, registering the maximum points for a fifth consecutive time in as many games. Placed 1st in the League, James Heslam, 1XI captain, is vying hard to maintain the momentum instilled in the team to secure promotion to Division 1.Winning the toss, Reed bowled first on a pitch that offered some early seam movement. Graham Wilson toiled for no reward with 12-3-29-0, as he pegged down one end and the talismanic Peter Tidey (17.3-4-40-4) fulfilled the usual function the other end. He removed W Hearne (10) early, thanks to a simple catch from Baz Curtis at first slip. A Catlin (41) held the other end up slowly accumulating runs, but wickets fell regularly throughout the innings thanks to Tidey early on, as Preston were reduced to 62-3 off 23 overs. The immediate introduction of William Clarke (9-3-37-2) brought rewards as he bowled dangerman R Gatehouse (13), and soon followed up with a probing over that laid the foundation for B Turner (16) to offer a catch to Heslam at short extra cover. Partnering Clarke, Andrew Emms (5-2-13-2) snared Samaweera (4) thanks to a sharp catch by wicket keeper Simon Jackson and opener Catlin at extra cover with a confident catch by Marcus Martin. Richard Johnson (2-1-4-2) then came on to mop up the tail with 2 perfect yorkers to dismiss Preston for 130 in 45.3 overs.Reed’s spirited reply began with Baz Curtis (13) and James Heslam accelerating the score to 27 off 5 overs, until Curtis was harshly adjudged LBW to a rising delivery, but his replacement Chris Jackson (35*) filled his boots well, as he carried the score to 69 with [...]

Reed look to have sealed their promotion bid to Division 1 in the Saracens Herts League, after securing an 18 point draw on Saturday at Potters Bar in a dour match on a flat batting wicket. This was aided as Flitwick were beaten by Old Finchleians whilst gaining 14 points.Winning the toss, Reed elected to bat, and James Heslam (64) and Baz Curtis (14) immediately put the hosts to the sword as they ensured Reed got a solid start reaching 36 before Curtis was caught at first slip off young spinner Luke Owers (22-3-70-2). With the in-form Chris Jackson (6) joining skipper Heslam, Reed aimed to progress the scoring towards 200 and a guaranteed 10 points, but Owers had his way as Jackson uncharacteristically miscued a shot through midwicket straight to the fielder. With Reed on 52 for 2, one batsmen needed to take responsibility. This responsibility fell upon the shoulders of Heslam and Phil Frenay (57) who both completed half centuries with a range of well placed drives, cuts and pull strokes, punishing some wayward bowling from D Brown (6-0-31-1), and the openers G Hodge (9-0-44-0) and C Hodge (10-0-37-0). It was only when Heslam miscued a pull stroke off Brown to be caught on the boundary that Potters Bar made a breakthrough.Tom Fulk (43*), who returned early that morning from a break in Sheffield, then joined Frenay, who was now opening his shoulders and punishing some loose deliveries from Owers. Fulk ran off the cobwebs induced through excessive consumption of alcohol the previous evening, and he and Frenay dragged the score to 177. When Frenay went to one drive too many off part time spinner D Pett (6-0-24-1) to be caught at mid [...]